I hesitated. Ava was telling me everything I wanted to hear and my own heart yearned for the picture she painted regardless of the possibility that I might hurt Savannah.
“Give yourself a chance, Rhys. And give her a chance. I’ve never seen her like this.”
That got my attention. “Like what?”
Ava shook her head. “No, it’s not my story to tell. I shouldn’t have even mentioned it, but I can’t stand to see her hurting.”
I knew I’d hurt Savannah after I kissed her, but I thought she would recover quickly. We barely knew each other.
“Will you talk to her?” Ava asked.
I relented. “Yes, I’ll talk to her.”
Ava smiled brightly. “Great. Then you should put some shoes on.”
“What? Why?” I asked, frowning at her.
“Because you’re coming with me to Savannah’s house for dinner. She’s making my favorite—Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes.”
“Ava, maybe—”
“Go put your shoes on and come with me,” she commanded. Her tone brooked no argument.
Unaccustomed to someone telling me what to do, I balked.
“Rhys, this is your opportunity to get what you want and to give the same to Savannah. Take it or regret it for the rest of your extremely long life.”
With that, she walked out the front door, shutting it softly behind her. Without thinking about what I was doing, I went into my bedroom and grabbed my sneakers. I tied them on quickly and left the house.
As soon as I knocked on Savannah’s door, it opened to reveal Ava. “I knew you’d make the right choice.” She turned away from me and called out. “We’ve got one more for dinner!”
“What?” Savannah asked, her voice floating out of the kitchen. “Who?”
Ava led me into the kitchen. “I invited Rhys. I thought he could use a good home-cooked meal.”
As soon as I saw Savannah’s face and her demeanor, I regretted what I had done weeks ago. The light I was so accustomed to seeing within her was snuffed. I felt like shit.
She was staring at me in surprise, the spoon in her hand poised over the pan on the stove.
“Hi, Savannah,” I said.
When I spoke, she visibly gathered herself. “Hi, Rhys. How have you been?” Then she peered down into the pan in front of her, stirring the contents.
The stiff formality in her voice made me wince. And the fact that she wouldn’t look at me? I hated it. I’d broken something between us when I kissed her and then turned away. I sensed it would take quite a bit of work to fix it.
I glanced at Ava, who nodded and left the room, and then stepped closer to Savannah. “Not so good,” I replied.
Her head came up then and she peered at me. “What?”
I turned so that I faced her, keeping space between us, and leaned a hip against the counter. Crossing my arms over my chest, I answered, “You asked how I’ve been. I haven’t been doing well.”
Some of the blankness left her eyes as concern crept in. “What’s wrong?”
This would be the difficult part. I wasn’t accustomed to talking to other people, much less admitting my feelings. “I hurt you and, in the process, hurt myself.”
Her brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“I made a mistake at the park a few weeks ago.”
